Someone put this “cookie” in a cup on my FB page-seems the idea of a “one” portion of desserts is catching on!

Chocolate Chip cookie for one

1 tbsp. butter/margarine/coconut oil
1 tbsp. each brown and white sugar
3 drops vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 C flour
2 tbsp. chocolate chips

spray either a small cup or a 4 oz. custard cup and microwave for 40-60 seconds.

will be a soft and delicious treat in under 5!

I know most of you are buried under snow and are just trying to keep warm.  Not so here in the Sonoran Desert.  Nope, even the nights have gone from lower 40s and slipped into the low 50’s.  

It’s possible that I might put those 2 pair of winter pjs under the lighter nighties this week.

Even with this in mind-I wanted stoup (thicker than soup, thinner than stew)for dinner the other night.  The idea stuck in my head after watching The Chew the other day.  They had an entire show on soups.

I had taken out some chicken thighs.  My plan was to grill them, serve the leftover barley on the side and add some roasted butternut squash to the mix.

But when I saw that show and a few of the ideas-well, couldn’t help myself! The outcome was pretty tasty too.

It was slightly spicy, slightly creamy, very hearty and even a tad sweet.  Plus, it made enough that my dh had a lunch out of it and I ate the last bit for my dinner on the night he works late!  Mine, by then, didn’t have any chicken in it, but that’s okay by me.

Here’s what went into it:

6 chicken thighs (I boned and defatted them, but left them whole)

1 15 oz can of fire-roasted and crushed tomatoes

3 C chicken stock

1 C water

4 C diced butternut squash

1 diced onion

6 C Kale

1/4 C chunky, natural peanut butter

1 tbsp. Cholula hot sauce

1 C cooked barley

(if you like it thick then have ready 4 tsp. cornstarch and the same of water to make a slurry)

I put everything except for the kale into a Dutch oven and slow cooked it in the oven at 300 for an hour.  stirred it and then I stirred in my slurry and cooked on the stove at a simmer for a couple of minutes.  Stirred in the kale and then returned it to the oven, which I lowered the temp to 275, for another hour.

I’m sure this would work beautifully in a crockpot on low for about 3-4 hours.

Of course, if you‘re like me, you can add more Cholula to it.  The chicken practically shreds itself too.  

I made some pumpkin bread to go with it-but honestly, it was so rich and hearty, we didn’t even cut into the loaf!

Forgive me, after posting a bit ago I totally forgot that I had some interest in making some low-cal, microwave chocolate pudding!

Here’s the main recipe:

4 tsps. BOTH corn starch and cocoa powder
1/4 C or to taste of sugar substitute (I switch off between splenda, truvia and agave and use about the equivalent of 1/4 C)
dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C Almond Milk (vanilla and only 30 cal! and lots of protein/calcium)  

sometimes I like to add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon for a bit of a Mexican chocolate flavor.  Or, for those who love mocha, add 1 tsp of either instant coffee or instant espresso.

I’ve got all kinds of other ideas in my head:  switch out the vanilla for some other extract.  Rum, raspberry, almond-so many choices.  Like the combo of orange and chocolate?  Use some orange zest.  Want some crunch and can afford a few more calories?  Top with some kind of toasted nut, coconut or even a tablespoon of granola.

Stir dry ingredients in a large mug until well-blended.  whish in milk.  It won't mix in too well. YOU MUST CONTINUE TO STIR REALLY WELL BETWEEN ZAPPINGS! Microwave in 40 sec intervals until hot and thick.  cool/chill-ENJOY!

Thank goodness!  DH is seeming to “get it” about his need to change.

How do I know?  Well, yesterday morning I was looking in the freezer for what to take out for dinner and found a 1/2 of a frozen sweet potato and an unmarked Ziploc that held a wrapped package from Albertson’s.  Took them both out.

Sounds counter-intuitive to some, but in the world of those who are “pre-diabetic” sweet potatoes actually stabilize blood sugars better than Idahos or reds.

Plus, if you add cinnamon (another sugar stabilizing item)it really is a good choice.  Just keep them under 6 ounces please.

As for the “surprise” package?  Well, neither of us could remember if it was salmon steaks or beef steaks-so we figured we’d just grill whichever one it was and enjoy.

Pointing out the size of the package, I informed DH that the overage would be his lunch protein.

All on his own-DH looked at the size of what became apparent was a steak of the cow kind and said, “Send me soup for lunch and we can have the second steak for dinner tomorrow night.”

Whoa!  What a breakthrough!  A few weeks ago he would have kept telling me how little there really was and that part of it was bone/fat and eaten every bit of that second piece!

Here’s to hoping he continues to make the changes all on his own and keeps on looking forward to our meatless meals.

This week? I’m thinking I’ll give him a low-carb, whole wheat pasta with a nice sauce filled with some baby bellas, broccoli and even some butternut squash.

My daughters and I frequent a program here in AZ called “Market on the Move“.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned it.  For a mere $10 you get to choose 60 (yes, 60) pounds of organic produce.  Sometimes melons are there.

We knew we couldn’t eat 60 pounds of veggies in each household, but the 3 of us go and pay our money and glean through what they have-it’s never the same.

The last 2 times we were able to get: corn, eggplant, roma and grape tomatoes, string beans, yellow squash, green peppers and watermelon.

We all had our own ideas on what to do with our stash!

Sarah and Sam did stuffed peppers, while I knew better and decided to use them in stir-fries and grill them off.  The green beans?  We all love them roasted.  Sarah found a wonderful recipe that involves roasting them in garlic, evoo, S & P and includes some beets in there.  Then she tosses them with goat cheese.

This dish is to die for-even my husband likes it!  He hates beets.

I just roasted them without the beets.  Presently, I’m lucky to get any food done.

Now for my decision to sneak in Meatless Mondays.

One of my dishes a few weeks ago was a “mock” eggplant parm.  As you know by now, I can’t eat mozzarella or parm.  So I roasted the eggplant (after salting and pressing it for an hour) by spraying on some evoo, garlic and pepper.  I also roasted some of the roma tomatoes and peppers and added an onion.

Once done I layered it with some grated sheep’s milk romano and returned it to bake.  

I announced that it would be a meatless meal.  Of course, DH said “Fine, just make sure you add a pork chop or something to my meatless meal.”

He meant it.  But I served it up as one of our sides at a family meal-guess what?  DH said he liked it and didn’t even think about meat!

So I re-did this dish but added lasagna noodles to it.

No frying, only a spritz worth of fat and lots of flavor.

Give it a try.  Lasagna noodles don’t have to be used in just the obvious or rolls.  And even husbands can learn to lower their meat intake if a “worthy” enough creation comes out of the oven!

I don’t indulge in the “bad” stuff much, but I do love peanut butter!  Now p-nut butter is not bad, but if you use it in desserts then, well, you know.

While I don’t usually have cravings (not even when I was pregnant), I saw this mug cake and thought, YUM!

MUG PB & J CAKE

2 Tbsp. PB
1 lg egg
1 Tbsp. oil
1/4 C milk of your choice
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 C br. sugar
1/3 C self-rising flour  

(or mix a C of your own: 1 C AP, 1-1/2 tsp. powder
1/2 tsp. salt)

pinch salt (cut if you mixed your own SR Flour)
2 tbsp. jelly/jam

In a large mug, whisk pb and egg.  Whisk in the rest except jelly.  Top with jelly.  microwave 1-1/2-2-1/2 minutes until done and smooth.